Chinese Beef and Broccoli

Even though I grew up in a very Italian family, when I think about going out to eat or ordering takeout, Italian is usually one of my last choices. Instead, I tend to gravitate more to Asian and Mexican dishes (and pizza, of course). It’s just one of those things – it’s terribly difficult to find really good Italian food that rivals the dishes that used to come out of my grandma’s kitchen. I’m sure that those of other ethnic backgrounds feel the same way when eating out at restaurants. As a result, I’ve been trying my hand at quite a few Asian recipes over the last year or so. Most of my favorites (Sesame Chicken, General Tso’s and Sweet and Sour Chicken) are fried (no wonder they’re so good!); this beef and broccoli recipe is a lighter, healthier alternative that is still packed with great flavor.

I played around with a few different recipes for beef and broccoli before settling on this version. I wanted the broccoli to still be vibrant in color and crisp-tender, as well as a lot of soy and ginger flavors throughout the dish. I was thrilled with the final outcome from both accounts. A quick note on the sauce (which I mention at the bottom of the recipe, as well) – there is definitely enough sauce to coat all of the beef and broccoli, but if you prefer your dishes a little on the “saucy” side, I would definitely double the ingredients for the sauce.

Italian food will always mean comfort to my taste buds, but I love all of the new ethnic dishes that I’ve been experimenting with lately. Do you have a favorite Asian recipe?

Ingredients:

1½ pounds broccoli, cut into florets (discard stems or save for another use)

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 (2-inch) piece of fresh ginger, minced

3 cloves garlic, minced

For the Marinade:

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1 tablespoon soy sauce

2 teaspoons rice vinegar

½ teaspoon sesame oil

For the Sauce:

8 tablespoons water

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons oyster sauce

2 teaspoons cornstarch

1 teaspoon dark brown sugar

½ teaspoon sesame oil

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, whisk together all of the marinade ingredients. Pour it into a gallon-size resealable plastic bag, add the beef, seal the bag and turn it so that all the pieces of the beef are coated in the marinade. Allow to rest at room temperature for 15 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, place 1 inch of water in a large sauté pan and bring to a boil over high heat. Add the broccoli, cover and steam for 3 minutes. Drain the broccoli and set aside.

3. Wipe the pan dry and place it over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the vegetable oil and quickly swirl it to coat the pan. Add the beef in as even a layer as possible, taking care not to overlap the pieces too much. Cook until the edges are browning, 30 seconds to 1 minute, then flip over. Add the garlic and ginger and begin to toss the beef mixture in a "stir-fry" fashion until no pink remains.

4. Remove the beef from the pan with a slotted spoon and place in a bowl. Whisk together the sauce ingredients and add to the pan, whisking and stirring until the sauce has thickened, about 1 to 2 minutes. Reduce the heat to low, add back the beef and broccoli to the pan and stir to coat it with the sauce. Serve immediately over white rice.

Note:

There is enough sauce to coat the beef and broccoli, but if you prefer more sauce, definitely double the sauce recipe.

This recipe looks great, the green of the broccoli looks so appetising with the beef. Simple but so tasty. I also love Asian food (and Italian incidentally). There is a restaurant in Edinburgh which does the most AMAZING dumplings with a dipping sauce which I swear I could (and possible have!) eat about 20 of in one sitting!! Great to try these types of dishes at home too though. Thanks for the recipe.

Michelle, I enjoy cooking Asian and Mexican. When either calls for beef I use flat iron steak, it is more expensive but worth it. It is tender, has a good flavor and does not have to be marinated. I cook a whole steak, use half one night for Asian, save the other half for Mexican.

I’m curious if the oyster sauce is an integral part of the recipe… this is something I would not buy normally, and I wonder if it could be left out of the sauce. In a very small kitchen, I hate to give up cabinet space to something I would only use once in a while. However, we are looking for healthier versions of foods, and ones using VERY small amounts of meat, and this is really helpful to me, as the chief cook!

I’m making dinner for a friend’s family and I’m wondering if this would be a good option. (Because it sounds so totally yum!) Do you think this would transport and reheat ok? I feel like reheating rice is tricky sometimes.

Hi Jen, It depends on how far you need to travel. If you cook the rice and keep it in the pot/airtight it should be okay. I did eat this for leftovers and it reheated well, but I would recommend making extra sauce, since it will evaporate once reheated.

So I am staring at a flank steak defrosting in my refrigerator yesterday, trying to think of a nifty recipe for dinner for my husband and boys when, to my astonishment, this recipe appeared in my email. Ta-da! Easy to make, delicious to eat, a real winner with all. Much better than any take-out. THANK YOU!

I was inspired by your beef and broccoli recipe so I made it for dinner last night and my BF and I loved it. The flavors were great – only thing I did different was to add some slivered red pepper for some added color and taste and I did double the sauce (we like it saucy). It was perfect and I will definitely make it again.

Just made this and it was super easy and tasty (though I’ll likely cut down on the ginger next time – but that’s just a personal thing). Could you pre-make the sauce and marinate the meat longer? I need to bring dinner somewhere, where I’ll have a stove for cooking, but it would be too much to bring all those bottles. If I could pre-make the marinate (and put the meat in it) and sauce, I think it would work perfectly. Just not sure what the corn starch might do.

Hi Chelsea, I’m glad you enjoyed it! I think you could make it ahead just as you described. I think the sauce should be fine, but might thicken up a little. If you want to thin it, just splash in some soy sauce or broth if it needs it.

A little tip I learned from a cook at a chinese food restaurant…mix a pea size amount of baking soda in with your beef and let sit for a little while. I then add my marinade. This makes the beef super tender.

Made Beef with Broccoli last night – it was delicious! I also made the General Tsao’s chicken recipe for my hubby (who is a meal coach) and for my parents – they are loving these recipes & say its better than Chinese restaurant because its so fresh tasting. We use low-sodium soy sauce, which I recommend . . .

I have made MANY of your awesome cakes and cookies and bars, but I had yet to try one of your savory dishes until tonight. This beef and broccoli was to die for! It came together really quickly and I’m excited that we have enough left over for a whole second night. Thank you so much!

Made this for dinner last night. Husband said it was the best beef and broccoli he’s ever had, and my picky 16-year-old had two helpings and polished it off for lunch today. I love that it’s not swimming in grease and is very lean. Thanks!

We recently moved to Germany for my husband’s job, and good Chinese food has been very hard to find. What they have is good, of course, but not the American style takeout we’re used to. I made this last night and it was the best beef and broccoli we’d ever had. Thank you for this recipe and this taste of home. ^^

I, like a few more recent commenters, just made this recipe last night – and it is FANTASTIC! I didn’t marinade the meat – I just used some thin petite sirloin cut up (cheap, too) fried it like you suggested and then I used low-sodium beef broth instead of plain water for the sauce (I had it on hand). I doubled the sauce like suggested and it was great! Only thing I think I will NOT double next time is the oyster sauce. I could taste it a little bit in the aftertaste, but that’s just me and my super sensitive taste buds 🙂 But it was SUPER great – I was able to make the whole dish (rice and an egg roll) in 20 minutes. My go-to Beef and Broccoli recipe for sure! Thank you!

In case anyone is wondering…do not use baking soda instead of cornstarch. I couldn’t figure out why it wasn’t thickening and realized my error. I managed to get it to thicken by adding cornstarch at the end, but the taste is inedible (apparently baking soda does not taste good). So sad, because this is such a great dish.

I made this for my husband and myself last night for dinner, and it was SO good! We really enjoyed it! The downside was that the oyster sauce I picked had MSG in it which made us both sick. I will be cooking this recipe many more times in the future BUT with an MSG free oyster sauce! Thanks for sharing this! It will be hard having beef & broccoli at a Chinese restaurant from now on!

It’s a bit ironic, because none of those dishes are actually Chinese. You know how you spoke of the difficulty in finding restaurants that served authentic Italian cuisine like your grandmother made? That’s the same with 95% of Chinese restaurants in north America. You should be looking for Chinese restaurants in Chinatowns, ones that don’t know what General Tso’s Chicken is, or Beef and Broccoli are gonna be the best. Cheers

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welcome to brown eyed baker!

Hello and welcome to this delicious little corner of the web! Here you'll find approachable recipes for desserts, comfort foods and easy dinners.

I reside in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with my husband, our two sons, and Golden Retriever.